Bridget Duignan

Bridget is a Cook County Circuit Court Judge and the 149th President of the Illinois State Bar Association. Prior to having been elected to the bench, she was the managing partner at the law firm, Latherow & Duignan, where she represented victims of medical negligence, construction negligence, sexual abuse, and wrongful death, for over 16 years. In 2024, she was recognized by Superlawyers to be in the Top 100 lawyers and Top 50 women lawyer category, in the State of Illinois. She is the current President of the non-for-profit organization, Catherine’s Caring Cause, where she works with the Sisters of Mercy and Mercy Associates to support asylum seekers as they navigate their journey towards a better life. She previously served on the Board of Directors for the ISBA Mutual Insurance Company, the Board of Directors for the Illinois Bar Foundation and on the Board of Managers for the Illinois Trial Lawyers. She also served as Legal Advisor to the Farmworkers Landscapers Advocacy Project (FLAP). Bridget has written, lectured and advocated for women in the workplace for her entire career, including having written a column for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, Women, Law & Politics, published on a monthly basis, covering topics that affect women in the workplace, including parental leave and equal pay. Bridget also testified before an Illinois House Committee on the Equal Rights Amendment and before the House Sexual Discrimination and Harassment Task Force on non-disclosure agreements. Her testimony on non-disclosure agreements prompted her to author the initial draft that became the Workplace Transparency Act, signed into law by Governor Pritzker in 2019. Bridget was born and raised on the south side of Chicago where she currently lives with her husband, Jose Rivero, an attorneyrepresenting injured workers in compensation matters, and their three children Jose (16), Finian (14) and Ela (12).